LeBron James returned from his one-game absence to play against the Phoenix Suns, but it was woeful night for him and the Los Angeles Lakers as they were embarrassed 125-108.
James managed to score only 10 points, with most of it coming in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of hand. Head coach JJ Redick was kind enough to let James extend his NBA-record for most consecutive games scoring in double digits, but that was about the only positive takeaway from the game.
Los Angeles did well to keep pace at the start of the game, but Phoenix’s activity, effort and defensive pressure eventually wore them down. Dillon Brooks was a massive part of the Suns upset as he couldn’t miss from the field and played physical defense on the other end that disrupted James and the rest of the offense’s flow.
Brooks has a long history of agitating James and he sent the King a reminder that he will continue to get after him.
“I’m a competitor man. I don’t really like the smiling and the giggling and all that. So just letting him know that I’m here and I’m still rising,” Brooks said of his trash talk to LeBron.
Brooks added that he believes James took exception to his chirping and that it likely got under his skin.
“Always, always, always, always. He likes people that bow down. I don’t bow down so that either entices him or it aggravates him. Either or,” he said.
There were a few moments during the game where Brooks and James barked at each other, with the latter having to even be held back by teammates at one point. The two have had several heated battles in the past and no matter where Brooks goes he finds a way to agitate James.
Regardless of the trash talking, the fact of the matter is the Lakers saw their seven-game winning streak snapped and they must not rebound during a tough road trip featuring several playoff-caliber teams. Phoenix showed that Los Angeles is susceptible to turnovers and scoring droughts when teams have the personnel required to defend their “Big 3” so defensively they need to be better to make up for it.
LeBron James expected to build up and play back-to-backs
LeBron James was ruled out for the Lakers’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans as part of his ramp up plan. Head coach JJ Redick confirmed, though, that the plan is for James to build up to play in back-to-backs this season.
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